Intel NUC6CAYS overview

1Description

The Intel NUC6CAYS Mini PC NUC is a mini-sized Windows 10 system that runs on an Intel Celeron J3455 processor and 2GB of DDR3L 1600 MHz memory.
The Intel Celeron J3455 processor sports four cores that operate at a stock speed of 1.5 GHz and can achieve speeds of up to 2.3 GHz while running demanding apps. The operating system is preinstalled on a 32GB eMMC, and its 2.5" drive bay lets you install a SATA-based SSD or HDD up to 9.5 high, providing you with a way to store more videos, apps, and other data. On the exterior, the NUC comes with a built-in microphone along with a multi-colored LED ring, so you can personalize it with a color you want. There's also an integrated card slot for reading and writing to SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards.

Intel has equipped the NUC6CAYS with an HDMI 2.0 along with an Intel HD Graphics 500 chipset to deliver up to 4K visuals to your TV or monitor. For supporting older monitors, it has a VGA port. To complete the multimedia experience, 7.1-channel surround sound is provided through its HDMI port, optical port, and combo audio jack.

Aside from multimedia, the NUC6CAYS provides four USB 3.0 ports, letting the system access printers, keyboards, external storage drives, and other useful peripherals. Additionally, one of the USB 3.0 ports can charge a battery-powered device while the system is turned off. If you need more USB ports, there's a USB 2.0 header to support an optional adapter with two USB 2.0 ports. Other notable connections include a Gigabit Ethernet port as well as 802.11ac Wi-Fi for accessing the Internet wired or wirelessly. Moreover, Bluetooth 4.2 is on board for wireless connections to headsets, speakers, and other Bluetooth-enabled devices. For powering the NUC, Intel includes an external 65W wall-mountable power adapter.

NUC6CAYS Mini PC NUC Features

Supports various Linux distros

Intel Remote Keyboard app preinstalled

Support for user-replaceable third-party lids

Fan sensor inputs used to monitor fan activity

Multi-color selectable front panel LED ring

Kensington lock slot with base security

Windows 10 Home

Start Menu

After its hiatus in Windows 8, the Start Menu has returned. Utilizing a combination of the traditional menu system and Windows 8's Live Tiles, the improved Start Menu gives you more information at a glance, showing notification information alongside your applications and other pinned items.

Cortana

Microsoft's digital personal assistant, Cortana can answer your questions with information gleaned from both your device and the internet at large. You can type or even talk with her, if your system has a microphone. Using her Notebook, Cortana keeps track of your needs and wants, and she learns over time to improve her information gathering skills.

Microsoft Edge

After nearly 20 years, Microsoft has finally replaced its Internet Explorer web browser. With Microsoft Edge, users can write directly on web pages and share notes with friends and colleagues. It also improves the online reading experience by adding a distraction-free mode and read-it-later functionality. Edge also has built-in Cortana integration; you can have her help you find a restaurant, make a reservation, and pull up directions without leaving your browser.

Windows Store

For Windows 10, Microsoft has unified the Windows Store. Now, apps for PCs, tablets, and phones will all be accessible from one place. And with support for Universal Apps, one version of an app can work across all your compatible devices automatically.

Windows Continuum

Windows 10 was designed for a variety of screen sizes and input styles, and with its Continuum feature, it automatically adapts to fit your needs. A Windows 10 tablet on its own requires a touch-centric approach, but attaching a mouse and keyboard will shift everything to a more traditional interface. You can even attach an external monitor to your Windows 10 phone for a near-desktop experience. But it's not just the operating system; Windows Universal Apps take advantage of Continuum as well.

Xbox on Windows 10

Gaming is a big focus of Windows 10. Xbox integration allows for PC players to match up against Xbox One players on supported games, and if you have an Xbox One, you can even stream compatible titles to your PC. Native support for recording with the new Game DVR feature makes it easy to capture and share your gameplay. The new DirectX12 takes better advantage of multi-core processors, giving games a performance boost, even on older hardware. Windows 10 also features native support for virtual reality headsets, such as the Oculus Rift.

Intel NUC6CAYS reviews

NUC6CAYS Mini PC NUC is rated
3.3 out of
5 by
3.

Rated 4 out of
5 by
Anonymous from
NUC6CAYS as a HTPCPurchased to replace an HP Mini PC. No problem with purchase or delivery to Canada. This NUC provided a next-gen Celeron, better graphics and Windows. Added a 250 gb SSD to support the non-upgradeable 32 gb emmc and boosted RAM to 8 gb. No problems thus far - stuck with Intel recommend SSD and RAM. Remote Logitech K400 keyboard was recognized as was my high-speed wireless provider. I will, however, need to explore the BIOS to switch off or alter the annoying led display in the front of this NUC. The apparent absence of significant operational issues has allowed me to properly explore the newest KODI iteration for this HTPC setup - first impressions: Krypton is quite different and tidier, but doesn't seem as convenient as Jarvis on startup.

Date published: 2017-03-15

Rated 1 out of
5 by
Richard from
WiFi reception will disappointI placed this NUC in a home office location where I have cycled numerous personal and work portables, all with no WiFi reception issues. This NUC is unusable in the same location due to extremely poor WiFi reception.

Date published: 2017-10-31

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Michael from
Perfect for web and desktop theaterI have a 2012 Thinkpad x230 with an i5 that is much faster than this 2017 Atom-derivative Mini PC. BUT this Mini PC can hardware decode h.265/HEVC, not just h.264. SO it is better suited for a low-powered home-theater set up. I call this my desktop theater setup because instead of a living room big-screen, I watch 1080p videos on a 21.5 IPS desktop monitor (at much closer distance than a living room set-up) with studio monitors set up near-field to left and right. The fan runs more often than reviews led me to believe, but it is very very quiet. Set up is easy. Out of the box, it is ready to go. I ran it stock for a while, when upgraded the included 2gb RAM to the max 8gb, dropped in a 275gb Crucial MX300 SSD and reinstalled Win10 by booting to USB (just download the Windows 10 Creator tool and tell it you want both versions, and installed to USB, then use the resulting USB in boot mode not app mode). Intel has all the drivers you need in one place on their website, but this booted and ran fine without resort to the drivers - the automatic install got most of them right. A few, I cleaned up later. BTW I wiped all partitions on the built-in, board-mounted 32gb eMMC, and chose the 275gb added SSD as my boot disk (install to disk). Easy peasy. BIG PLUS: microphones on the front of the box, invaluable for desktop use, because now I can use Siri - oops, Cortana - without an accessory microphone. Ditto for Skype and Hangouts. I recommend this if you would mostly be happy with a Chromebook/box but want to run mpc-hc or Videolan VLC and traditional low-resource apps like that. Also find for word processing, haven't testing on spreadsheets, NOT for gaming or photoshopping (unless the grunt work is done in the cloud). Oh the front panel blue lighting is terrible you can turn it off in BIOS but I haven't figured exactly how to do that. At least I stopped it from flashing on SSD access.